"CDs killed cassettes. MP3s killed CDs. " The better analysis is while Format wars such as LPs killing 78s and Cassete killing 45s, these format wars did not kill the record companies or the distributors. All the way through the 90's there were lots of places to buy CDs, that used to sell cassettes, that used to sell LPs. The distribution of plastic boxes remained a good business for CBS, Columbia, Tower records, etc.. The MP3 however as Napster, iTunes, Pandora, Slacker, bypassed all these distributors and killed their business model. The big record companies are still scrambling a decade after the iPod because the MP3 meant they were no longer selling plastic bits. The record companies had no idea how to sell bits